Reading lists?

[klmama]

I've read several posts that mention providing reading lists along with curriculum lists to colleges. Is the reading list simply free reading, or is it a list of all the books that aren't textbooks that a child is assigned to read?

[Kareni]

I sent a reading list with my daughter's paperwork (i.e., transcript, counselor letter, profile and course descriptions). We sorted her list into categories such as:

 

Fiction

 

Non-fiction

 

Essays

 

Fantasy (a favorite genre of hers)

 

Latin works (This included authors such as Ovid and Catullus as well as books such as Virent Ova! Viret Perna! by Dr. Seuss, Ferdinandus Taurus by Munro Leaf, and Asterix Olympius by Rene de Goscinny. Since she was planning to major in Latin and/or the Classics, we thought this showed her interest.)

 

We included titles and author names but also shortened the list by having items such as: The Scarlet Pimpernel by Baroness Emmuska Orczy plus six sequels.

 

We did not include everything she had read for pleasure in high school -- for example, we did not include any manga (though she had read an abundance) nor did we include Calvin & Hobbes or Zits. We did include titles that had been assigned reading.

 

I also included a list of textbooks used since I did not include book titles in her course descriptions.

 

When my daughter looked over her reading list, there were a number of books whose contents she no longer remembered clearly. Many of these she had read in ninth grade. She elected to eliminate them so that she would not be put in an awkward position. We imagined an interviewer looking over the list and saying, "Oh, Vaguest, Dimmest Memories is a favorite title of mine. What did you like best about it?" And, yes, she was asked about some of her reading choices when she interviewed.

 

Regards,

Kareni